OT - Warning ~ Avoid Robot Cashiers

I've tried the automated checkout a few times,
now that they have it at Winn Dixie and Publix.

~consul...

I've had zero problems with them in using them for the past 6 months, about once a week or so.

suzee...

I've used them frequently for three years and had very few problems.
Sounds like their machine needs a tuneup.

2 days ago, the machine kept calling for an attendant.
They sent me to another machine. I got the same warning.
They got it rolling. It was taking multiple swipes to get the bar codes to register.
The attendant pointed out that something had rung up twice.
I was looking elsewhere and the machine failed to generate the tone when it scanned the first time.
That could get expensive.

I then put in $25 and it only registered $5.
The attendant and manager looked at me like I was a con man.
I told them to open it up. There would be a $5 bill... with a $20 under it.
The opened it up... but that didn't satisfy them.
Maybe they thought I had been conducting a binocular surveillance, from the frozen food aisle,
so that I would know what denomination bill was in the machine?

They were going to count the till, at their convenience, 9 hours later.
I had to cough up another $20. I got it back today.

I'm sticking with the human tellers from now on.
If you go robot... keep your eye on them.

Garondo Marondo...

Robot? The live people are using the same makines and you usually have
to stand in a line twice as long. 've never had a problem with the self
checkout line that I hadn't first experienced with a live checkout

Default User...

Except that cashiers don't use bill readers, which seems to be the gist
of the complaint.

In general, I don't use the self-check lines because I object to doing
the labor that a paid cashier should. I did on the day before
Thanksgiving when I just needed a couple of items and lines were
slammed. It went ok, but I was using credit card to pay.

Brandy Alexandre...

I agree. People using the self-check should get an automatic discount
for it. The company will still make more money because instead of one
cashier per register, it's one per 4 to 6.

Anim8rFSK...

Yeah.

The ones at Albertson's pretty much don't work. They have a full time
attendant, because they scream every time you remove a bag from the
bagging area and lock up. I've given up and go through the cashier line
because it's so much faster. I think everybody else has too because the
self check used to be busy and now it's a ghost town.

Brandy Alexandre...

I'm too fast for the self-check in most cases. I do have to wait for
the machine more times than not. But when I buy condoms, a garden
hose, and 20 cans of dog food, I don't want the cashier wondering what
I came in for and what I decided to buy on impulse. ;)

Anim8rFSK...

Yes, good point, it's MUCH slower at the self check at Albertson's
between item swipes. Also, god help me if I buy an avocado and then I
have to figure out how to spell it and type it in and then it asks me
which of 3 varieties I have even though there was only one out there.

pepsi...

The scanners have pictures of the produce. Or you can type in the 4
digit universal code from the sticker on the avocado itself.

Anim8rFSK...

Um, well, no. It won't take the code; you have to type in the name of
the product. Then it puts up little pictures of different avocados, but
there's no way to know what you have, because what you have just says
'avocado'

If it took the code, it would help a lot.

kenny...

The ones in CA do.

suzee...

All the scanners I've used will.

Anim8rFSK...

So how does that work? You scan the sticker on the avocado and it asks
you to put it on the scale?

pepsi...

It asks you to either type in the 4 digit code or push the "look up
item" button that will show you pictures of the items. All produce
now has stickers with the 4 digit codes right on the product. If you
pick a produce item that doesn't have a sticker on it, it's because
the sticker fell off. The codes are universal, they won't vary from
store to store. Bananas are 4011, etc.

suzee...

No, there's no bar code on the sticker. You choose the option to enter
the product code and type it in.

Anim8rFSK...

Ah. When they first put them in, they had people teaching customers to
use them. They only taught us the 'type in the name of the produce'
method, but there may well be another.

On the other hand, I don't think people who have trouble with an ATM
and a gas pump should be allowed in the self-check lines.

Anim8rFSK...

I've never used an ATM. Do people have trouble at the gas pumps?

Goro...

Dude, you donut even Know!

When gas prices were WAY high this summer, i often was sitting in my
car in line at the CostCo gas pumps, watching the people pumping their
gas. They'd get out of their car, look at the card reader console,
stare at it for a a minute, then reach into their wallet, pull outtheir
Costco card, look at the card for a minute or so, slide it in, pull it
out, put the card back in their wallet, then look quizzically at the
display for another minute or so, push a button, stare at the display
again, pull out their debit card, slide it in, pull it out, stare
again, sometimes flipping the card around and repeating the sliding
process, stare some more, then put the card back in their wallet, put
the wallet away, ...

Sometimes, it took the person quite literally 4-5 minutes before they
even started pumping the gas. Obviously self-serve was on the verge of
being beyond them.

Anim8rFSK...

aaaaiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee

May I take a moment to mention those people in the grocery store that
stand there and wait until the groceries are completely rung up BEFORE
they even BEGIN to rummage in their purse for their checkbooks?

It's the Principle!...

There's a talk show host who brings that up every single time they run
a "vent" segment. I feel y'all's pain. It's, like, they can't fill in
the date and sign it while waiting? Another thing is no one except he
and I knows that you can swipe your debit or credit card as soon as
they start scanning your stuff. When I do my big shopping, I use the
cashier. I hand them, the club card and I go through my coupon stack

pepsi...

I use the "U-scan" almost everytime I go to the grocery store and,
yes, sometimes they do have problems. They rely on feeling the weight
of the items put into bags...you don't always have the option to skip
bagging, and if you are too close to the bagging area, the machine
will often call for assistance because of an "unknown item in the
bagging area". Sometimes they are annoying, and they are made as an

Anim8rFSK...

Is THAT what causes that? I get that ALL the time.

express checkout for 20 items or less (although you can have as many
items as you want). However, I prefer to checkout quickly, without
having to talk with a distracted cashier who may forget to take off an
instant coupon, or bag my bread underneath my 2L pop. I also find
that I pay more attention to the prices the items are scanning at when
I scan them myself.

I do often wonder how much the grocery stores are losing by people not
being honest with produce and weighable bulk items. If the store
sells Absorbic acid, which is a white powder, in bulk at 13.50/pound
and Fructos, which is also a white powder, at 1.10/pound, how easy is
it to just call your Absorbic acid Fructos and pay just a small % of
what if really costs? (I've used both ingredients in cooking and
making bath products)

By the way, I used to be a grocery cashier, so for me it's just easier
to do it myself, but I can also see where self-checkout can be a pain
for someone used to the convenience of customer service.

to take out the ones I didn't use, swipe my card, and wait. Actually,
some of them are so fast that I'm not finished before they are, but at
least I made the effort.

karl...

I've actually seen them apparently caught by surprise when it's time to
pay. They get a "What? I have to pay for all these groceries I brought to a
checkout????" look. They just didn't think that far ahead.

Those people must be shot. Get em out of the gene pool before they breed.

I've never used the self-check under the 'you want me to do employee work
then pay me' philosophy. I can't imagine getting stuck behind a dimwit
trying to check his own groceries.

On a similar note and not to be ageist but I always favour the younger
cashiers. The older ones are just too slow. Teen part-timers might be

Ra...

Cashiers must get hit on more than most professions.
They're just so accessible.
I know I've nailed my quota.

totally apathetic and can't tell radicchio from red cabbage but at least

wdstarr...

I've had just the opposite experience. Maybe more middle-aged
ladies work for years at the same grocery job around here (Boston
and environs) and get really experienced at it, because most of them
seem to be able to get me through the checkout at warp speed, all
the while carrying on conversations with their friends at the
adjacent registers in Spanish or Portuguese, or something.

karl...

My local store seems to have either very young or very old cashiers. Not
much in between. The retirees seem to have more trouble with scanning and
more likely to want to get into involved conversations. One went on and on
with the person in front of me - which was bad enough. But then when it was
my turn she started regaling me with her various medical problems. Ugggh.

Ravenlynne...

Our local commissary has young people ringing you up and old ladies
bagging and bringing your groceries out to your car. I think it's a
gimmick...they tell you that baggers only make tips, not an hourly wage,
so they throw old ladies at you so that you feel guilty and tip. I know
for a fact that these baggers make TONS of money...

Anim8rFSK...

None of the grocery stores I go to will let their people take tips.
I've tried.

pepsi...

We have an older woman at our local Rite Aid that says "thank you" to
so many times you just want to slap her.

cashier: Did you find everything you needed?
customer: yes
cashier: Thank you
cashier: that will be $2.49, out of $5.00, thank you.
would you like a bag?
customer: no
cashier: thank you. $2.51 is your change. thank you.

We try to avoid her. She's so much like a robot, I don't think she
even realizes she is saying thank you after every sentence.

Anim8rFSK...

LOL

We had the world's most incompetent cashier at Osco. Not only would he
screw up your order EVERY SINGLE TIME, he'd steal your cash register
coupons, and when you complained pretend not to speak English.

He was the first one CVS fired when they took over. :)

they're faster.

Brandy Alexandre...

Yes indeedy. The scanning of your discount card and choosing inside
or outside debit, or inside or outside credit is a major task,
especially if you use a card that wants your zip code.

Anim8rFSK...

I hate it when it asks for my zip and I've already put the card back in
my wallet and don't remember which one I used. :)

pepsi...

how many zip codes do you use?

suzee...

My local Albertson's works okay. And when the store's busy there's
people waiting to use them.

Anim8rFSK...

Might just be the one store then. Does yours have a guy there full time
to push 'clear' when they lock up? And is he busy all the time? :)

suzee...

There's a lady overseeing the stands, and no, she doesn't have to go to
them all the time. Maybe half the time. From my experiences at Kroger
and Meijer, I chalk that up to customer ineptitude. Some people don't
know which buttons to push.

Anim8rFSK...

The ones at Albertson's definitely just don't work right. One thing
they do a lot is scream ITEM MISSING FROM BAGGING AREA REPLACE ITEM and
lock up -- even though all you're doing is scanning items. I don't

Seerialmom...

Slightly similar thing happened at an AM/PM gas pump; I put in $5 in
the pay at the pump feature, got some "bill stack error" and
immediately told the cashier inside. Her answer was : the people who
service it will not get to it until Tuesday (it was Saturday). I left
my name/contact info and waited...and waited...went back 2 more
times...finally threatened to contact the HQ's of the company and "oh
my" got my $5 back. If I were out to cheat them wouldn't I say I put
in a $20?? It was more about the principle not the cash. I was
thinking more about the minimum wage worker who lost the last $5 until
payday. At least WD got yours back to you in a timely fashion.

Brandy Alexandre...

I don't understand putting cash in the self-check. I would never do
that. WHen you're dealing with machines, you should always used a
card where you can dispute the charges.

think I've ever had anything go wrong at the scanner end, or any place
I'm actually pushing a button, come to thing of it. It's the bagging
area that's whacked.

suzee...

That's happened to me a few times. From watching the cashiers come over
and clear it, I've figured out which button to push (the ones near the
scanners, not on screen).

Brandy Alexandre...

I haven't caught that yet. I'll have to pay closer attention. :)
I love the self-check except for the slow machines and the slow
people using them who should go back to cashiers with just a cash
drawer to count out their pennies. When I get to the machine, I
fluff out how many bags I might need before I do anything and have
her people do that pass-aggress sigh behind me like I taking too
much time and they get in another line. What they don't understand
is that I've sped things up. The bags are set and I scan like a
fiend and can drop the item in the bag for those kinds of items.

Anim8rFSK...

They don't clear ours at the bagging station unfortunately; they come
over, look, and go back and do something at a central station. So
you're stuck 'til they get to you.

It's an art; I'm an artist. :) I like to snag a handful of extra
bags at Wal-Mart because they are just the right size for my kitchen
trash can. }:> (Target bags are better--slightly larger--but I

Seerialmom...

Hadn't had any problems with it before plus I only wanted $5 worth of
gas for my old truck. But not everyone has credit cards (hang out in
near any of those check cashing places, you'll see). I agree there's
more chance of a conflict though.

Brandy Alexandre...

pepsi...

Try disputing credit card charges at a gas pump. We don't have
self-serve in Oregon, but there have been several times when the
attendant put in more gas than I asked for and I had no choice but to
pay for it. It could happen with self serve, too, I'm sure, if the
wrong buttons were pushed.

telenovels...

I disputed gas charges in California, since at the time I was in
Maryland and nowhere near California. And won.

Default User...

When paying with CC at a self-service pump, you don't put in an amount.
You swipe in your card and pump gas. You then pay the amount pumped.

Depending on your bank, debit cards can be disputed, too. I have
little empathy for people who don't even have that. Even a poor person
can have a bank account. If they don't, the mojority of them probably
totally abused the privilege and no bank will touch them.

Ra...

I get 1.5% kicked back with my card but I still prefer using cash for small purchases.
In the long run, there's probably more likelihood of some kind of error with the plastic money,
than with good old greenbacks.

~consul...

To each their own. I've never had any problem with errors, and have been using my card for
at least 10 years. And my good ole amazon.com visa, has given me about $50 a month ever
since I got it as I use it for _Everything_. If they let me charge it and it's $3, I
charge it. I even use it with my bills. About the only thing I use my checkbook for is
DWP, and my monthly rent. A $20 bill usually lasts me 2 weeks.

Brandy Alexandre...

record hunter...

Good thinking, Brandy. I hate charging groceries, but still...

Default User...

I love charging them, 5% cashback!

Brandy Alexandre...

I still can't get behind charging my groceries. I debit most
everything, but use the credit card when I need the protections, like
extended warranty, price guarantee, etc. I've used the extended
warranty perk three times and the price protection once. It actually
works!

May not be a good deal if you carry a balance, because Amazon, and
other vanity cards like theirs (usually from Chase or FirstUSA), use
a two-cycle average daily balance to calculate finance charges as
opposed to average daily balance in the current cycle used by most
other major cards. What that means is if you carry a balance, they

kenny...

I have an AmEx rewards card; were I to be even one day late on the
full balance, Kenneth Chenault would send a goon squad to beat the
remainder out of me.

~consul...

"What's in your wallet?" :)

calculate finance charges based on the current cycle as well as the
cycle before. So if you had a large purchase but you paid it in
that cycle, you'll still be charged interest on that amount in this
cycle because it's still used in the average. Even if you paid off
your entire balance in the last cycle, you'll still be charged
interest on it in the current cycle.

I read a gazillion credit card terms looking for that specifically
and had a hard time finding one that didn't. Once you add up annual
fees, finance charges, higher interest rates, etc., the "rewards"
aren't worth it.

Ra...

I get 1.5% back on my debit card.
I prefer spending my own money.

~consul...

I have never carried a balance in my life. I paid everything off in the following
statement, otherwise I wouldn't do as I do.
I've worked and have saved enough to float about $20,000 in charges right now. Which is
almost my credit limit. :) Though the highest I ever had was dong a 11K charge when I had
to cover for a office retreat when a check that was mailed, wasn't. Which was fine for me,
as they cut _me_ a check for it when we got back 5 days later. Given the vagaries of
working for a private University (or any large organization), often times it is easier
(and fairer to the vendor) to just have me do the credit and get reimbursed within 5 days
of the receipts submissions, than to have the vendor submit for payments in 2-6 weeks.

But my rewards are my rewards! :)

Brandy Alexandre...

LOL! I had been using my card for business expenses, but I've been
grooming my credit for a home loan and your high balance affects your
credit score even if it's only there for a day, so I stopped doing it.
Most of it was using Click'n'Ship on the post office web site to send
Priority mail. You'd be amazed what you can rack up in a month. I
told my boss I just wasn't going to do it anymore. He gave me his card
and I loaded it in.

But I like your $11k "cash advance." Tricky. :)

I just won't slide them into any more self serve cashiers.
I'll let the human cashiers do their job, which frees me up to
make sure that the scanner registers the correct price.
I've noticed that those kind of errors are rarely in favor of the consumer.
There's probably a statistic and name for it.

"We get 1.5 percent of our profits from 'accidental' overcharges." ,
or some such thing.

"You can maximize the overflow by placing a low priority on correcting discrepancies,
when they are pointed out by the consumer.

hate that store.)

Anim8rFSK...

How do you fluff bags? Ours are on a hook at the back of the bagging
station; you fill them while they're hanging and then pull them off when
they're full (locking up the machine). We only have these hideous
shallow plastic bags hanging from their handles.

pepsi...

fluff: Open them up so they're easier to fill.

This is why the self checkers are only designed for 20 items or less.
Albertson's is where I shop, also, and they have told us when the bag
gets full, you must pull it forward, but not remove it from the
bagging area. This only works well with a minimum of items and no
gallons of milk or large bottles of laundry detergent, etc.

It's the Principle!...

My Kroger has something like six two-bag station and two carousels.
Walmart lets you take the bags off as soon as it registers the weight
of the product so it's pretty much unlimited.

Anim8rFSK...

Ah. They've never given us that instruction. And yeah, it would work
if you were buying some stuff the size of candy bars maybe.

suzee...

I think it's to open them up so you can drop stuff in a bit faster. I
usually only buy 1 bag's worth at a time, so doubt it would speed things
up for me.

wdstarr...

Here in eastern Massachusetts the two main grocery store chains,
Shaws (formerly Star Market) and Stop & Shop both offer machine
checkout, and the two chains clearly use different models of
machines. I think I've had problems exactly _once_ at S&S, while I
can't count how many times the ones at Shaws have locked up on me
with "Please remove item from bagging area" because they falsely
believe that I've slipped an item into my shopping bag without
scanning it. So the bottom line seems to be that it depends a lot
on which manufacturer the chain of stores buys/leases/rents its
machines from. (Either that, or the machines's software comes with
a user-settable "level of paranoia about shoplifting" variable and
the folks at Shaws set theirs way high.)

cashier.

..
Garondo Marondo!